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Two more men arrested in connection with October Auburn human trafficking, rape investigation

The two men — Rodney McCurdy, 42, from Auburn, and Courtney Thomas, 38, from Auburn — were taken into custody Tuesday

<p>The Auburn Police Division and&nbsp;U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force&nbsp;arrested Courtney D. Thomas (left), age 38, and&nbsp;Rodney F. McCurdy (right), age 42, both&nbsp;from Auburn, on charges of felony&nbsp;first-degree rape.</p>

The Auburn Police Division and U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force arrested Courtney D. Thomas (left), age 38, and Rodney F. McCurdy (right), age 42, both from Auburn, on charges of felony first-degree rape.

The Auburn Police and U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force have arrested two men, charging them with felony first-degree rape. Their arrests are part of an ongoing investigation into the October 2017 rape and human trafficking of a 13-year-old girl in Auburn.

The two men — Rodney McCurdy, 42, from Auburn, and Courtney Thomas, 38, from Auburn — were taken into custody Tuesday.

Police have said the victim was picked up in a vehicle with several "unknown males" shortly after fleeing from the Lee County Youth Development Center. She was taken to a residence where she was held against her will and sexually assaulted.

McCurdy and Thomas developed as suspects during the ongoing investigation. Police later obtained warrants for their arrests and have charged them each with rape in the first degree, police report.

They are currently being held in the Lee County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

Tuesday's arrests are the newest in a string of arrests related to this case. In January, Auburn Police arrested Corey B. Heard, 36, in connection to the rape and kidnapping. Earlier that month, police arrested Brian D. Askew, 37, charging him with kidnapping and rape.

Heard was charged with first-degree rape after police had already arrested him on an unrelated charge of breaking and entering into a car.

APD said at the time that Heard was developed as a suspect during the course of its investigation and was allegedly involved in the sexual assault of the victim with Askew. The arrest warrant on Askew for human trafficking was executed later while he was in custody in the Lee County jail on the kidnapping and rape charges.

Heard, unable to make bond, is being held at Limestone Correctional Facility, an Alabama state prison, on prior convictions, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections prisoner directory.

He had been held at Kilby Correctional Facility in Montgomery until he was briefly returned to Lee County for authorities to take DNA samples, according to court documents.

Askew remains in custody at the Lee County Jail, according to the Sheriff's Office online prisoner directory.

Charges against both Heard and Askew are still pending.

It's unclear if more arrests are anticipated.


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